


We Drew Our Own Constellations

by bbethyl



Category: Glee
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-03-05
Updated: 2013-12-08
Packaged: 2017-12-04 10:16:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 14,052
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/709634
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bbethyl/pseuds/bbethyl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kurt is a single dad, and Blaine is his daughter's first grade teacher. This is the story of how they found each other, and how they found out what "family" really means.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Part One

"And then, Mr. Anderson told us this story about his dog. His dog is named Raviolli, or Biscotti, or Pavotti, or something. I can't remember. Um. And his dog, his dog went into his bedroom and actually ate all of his paperwork and he had to tell Principal Donald that his dog ate his homework and it actually really did!"

"Honey, don't talk while you're eating." Kurt warned Nessarose, who had a mouthful of a cookie that she was eating for dessert and was talking a mile a minute. She mumbled a sorry before swallowing her cookie whole and continuing babbling.

"And then during recess, I didn't want to go outside because it was really really cold, so Mr. Anderson let me and Charlotte Benley, the girl from the Miss Rose's third grade class I told you about yesterday? Yeah, me and Charlotte stayed-"

"Charlotte and I," Kurt corrected. Nessarose let out an irritated huff of breath.

"Charlotte and I stayed inside with Mr. Anderson and he took out his iPod and we singed to Katy Perry together and it was so so so so so so so fun. Like, really really fun."

"I'm glad you're having fun, sweetheart." Kurt smiled at his daughter. "Mr. Anderson sounds like a great teacher."

"He really is, Daddy! And he teaches us a lot, too. Because my arc-memsis Leo-"

"You mean arch-nemesis? You have an arch nemesis?"

"Yes, daddy, his name is Leonardo and I hate him." Nessa said in one breath, her expression turning dark for a few short seconds before turning bright again as she continued her story. "Anyways, Leonardo was fighting with Mary Little, the girl who sits across from me, about whether or not girls should be president. Mary Little said that they should but Leonardo said that girls were to weak and dumb. Then Mr. Anderson said... he said that his best friend, Santana, is a girl and she is the most smartest and most strongest person, girl or boy, he knowed. And then Leonardo shut right up! He did! And then he told us that sometimes girl leaders are better than boy leaders. And he told us about all of these girl presidents in other places. I can't remember where. But it was so cool."

Kurt smiled warmly at his daughter, and reached out and ruffled her thick brown hair. Nessa's nose scrunched up as she laughed loud and bright.

"Daddy, you messed up my hair!"

"It's time for your bath anyway, sweet pea. Run off upstairs and I'll be there in a few minutes."

"Oh, and daddy! I forgot!" Nessa got up from her chair and ran off to the next room where her backpack was resting. And in that same moment, she was racing back with a piece of paper clutched in her hands. "All of us got these papers today and I was supposed to bring this to you."

"What is it?" Kurt asked, taking the paper in front of him and putting on his glasses that rest on the table so he could read the words.

"Dunno," Nessa shrugged, practically climbing on top of the table to peer over the top of the paper.

"Ah!" Kurt exclaimed as he read the words. "Parent teacher conferences are next week. I finally get to meet this infamous teacher of yours."

"Yay!" Nessa squealed, jumping out of her chair and excitedly flailing around the dining room. "Yay yay yay!"

"Alright, alright." Kurt grinned, standing up and scooping Nessa up so she hung upside down. "Let's get this crazy dirty monkey upstairs. It's bath time."


	2. Part Two

Blaine was exhausted. And that was putting it lightly. It was a Thursday evening. He had been working especially hard this week, trying to conclude the first half of the school year. He's slept all of four hours the previous night, somehow survived a full day of hyperactive six and seven year olds, and plowed through two of three parent teacher conferences that were scheduled for the afternoon. He had about half an hour in between each one, which he spent finishing some grading so he could crash when he finally managed to make his way home.

Blaine was in the middle of grading a pile of math worksheets he had been putting off when the third and final parent arrived. Honestly, Blaine was barely awake. He struggled to even keep his eyes open. He was jolted awake by a knock on the classroom door, followed by the cautious greeting of a parent. "Hello?"

"Come in, come in." Blaine smiled, forcefully without looking up. He finished writing a messy  _"good try_ " on one kid's worksheet before he looked up and saw the father standing before his desk. And  _wow_. This was a pleasant surprise if ever there was one. This man was  _gorgeous_. Tall, thin, but strong. Perfectly styled chestnut brown hair, an oh,  _those eyes_. Blaine could barely form a response. "Hi, you must be Mr. Hummel. I'm Mr. Anderson, Nessa's teacher."

Mr. Hummel smiled wide and shook Blaine's hand firmly. "Please, call me Kurt. And I'm glad to finally meet you. Nessa has told me lots about you."

"Only good things, I hope." Blaine chuckled lightly, but instantly chastised himself.  _Only good things? For Christ's sake, Anderson, you sound like the beginning of a bad rom-com_. "Why don't you take a seat and we can get started."

Blaine watched intently as Kurt sat down in one of two small plastic chairs across from Blaine's desk wordlessly. Blaine was suddenly nervous, which was weird, as he'd done dozens of parent teacher conferences in the three years he had been teaching, and he was never nervous. He always knew exactly what to expect. So why was it different this time?

"So. Nessa. Where to start?" Blaine flipped through a pile of folders and pulled out a green one with  ** _Nessarose Elizabeth Hummel_**  printed out in bold letters on the label, opening it and spreading the contents out on his desk, perusing the information quickly. He silently thanked whoever he needed to thank that he had Nessa's file in his hands, with all of her information inside, including the fact that Kurt was a single father and Nessa lived with him and only him. There was hope for Blaine yet. "Well, before I begin, do you have any questions? About Nessa's progress, her behavior, or anything?"

"Oh. Um. Not that I can think of?" Kurt stuttered, eyes wide. Blaine was just about to open his mouth and continue when Kurt started speaking, suddenly, as if he had just thought of something to ask. "Is Nessa behaving alright? I know that sometimes she has quite the mouth on her."

"Really?" Blaine raised his eyebrows, genuinely surprised. Nessa was always quiet in class, only ever really talking to a few of the girls in the class of fifteen kids. She was always perfectly polite and she never so much as raised her voice. "I never would have guessed. She's such a sweetheart. No problems at all."

"Good. That's great." Kurt smiled to himself. Blaine caught himself staring again. He quickly snapped out of it, and turned his thoughts around to his job.  _Besides, he probably has a boyfriend  or a girlfriend or something._

"Nessa... she's really bright. Maybe the smartest in her class," Blaine mused. The great thing about this is that he didn't even need to sugarcoat the truth to impress Kurt here. Nessa had the best average in the class, her wisdom outshining all of the other kids. Blaine wasn't one to pick favorites, but if he had to choose one, it would certainly be her. "She's reading far above her grade level..."

"I've been reading classic literature to her practically her whole life." Kurt said with a proud smile. Blaine returned the smile with a look of interest on his face. "She's always thought the stories her level were completely silly."

"Oh, really? That's fantastic! I had no idea that her enthusiasm for reading had a root. What kind of books have you been reading with her?"

Kurt's face lit up as he talked about Nessarose and books. Blaine was fully intrigued, absorbing every word that came out of Kurt's mouth. "It started off with  _Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Gulliver's Travels_  and such. Her favorite is  _To Kill a Mockingbird_ , mostly because Scout is her role model. Half of her stuffed animals are named after the characters. She can't sleep without her teddy bear, Boo Radley."

"That's perfect!" Blaine laughed. "One of my dogs is actually named Jem."

"I'm sure he'd get along fine with our cat, Holden Caulfield."

Blaine laughed brightly. He was surprised about how easy it was for him to talk to Kurt, and how easy it was to laugh with him.

"You're a fan of  _Catcher in the Rye_?"

"It's a favorite of mine, yeah. Anything set in New York, I'll just kind of buzz over. I wanted to live there more than anything for most of my life."

"Oh?" Blaine raised an eyebrow with curiosity. "What kept you?"

Kurt shook his head quickly, in attempt to dismiss the subject. "Oh no, you don't want to hear my life story. Kind of a drag."

"No, no. You got me interested now." Blaine insisted.

"It's just that my ex-husband had a life set up in Ohio. We talked about New York as a future plan, but... it didn't work out. And now that it's just Nessa and me, we're kind of stuck here. For now. It's still a possibility."

"Well, if you can make it there, I'm sure you would love it." Blaine tried to lighten the mood, as it had gotten somber for a moment. "I went to school in New York. It was amazing."

"If you went to school in New York, what are you doing in Ohio? If you don't mind me asking, of course."

Blaine bit his lip, thinking of a way to word his situation in simpler terms. "My family preferred to have me closer to home. More or less. I'd say that's the SparkNotes version."

"Sorry about that." Kurt frowned. "I know Ohio isn't the greatest place to live. Far from it."

"You can say that again." Blaine smiled.

"You're an adult, though. Can't you just move to New York yourself? I mean, I'm sure you could teach anywhere."

"It's a bit more complicated than that." Blaine said, offering an almost sad smile.

"I'm sorry, I was overstepping." Kurt said quickly, his eyes darting across the room.

"No, no. It's fine."

Kurt was about to open his mouth to reply when he was interrupted by the sound of his phone playing " _All that Jazz_ " is his pocket. He shot Blaine an apologetic glance before checking his phone quickly.

"I approve of your ringtone." Blaine commented.

"That would be Quinn. She's watching Nessa."

"Is she your..." Blaine paused, searching for a word. "girlfriend?"

"Oh, God, no." Kurt replied, with a breathy laugh. "Best friend. I'm gay, remember?"

"Ah. Well, you can certainly take that call."

"Thank you, so much." Kurt smiled as he slid his thumb across the screen of his iPhone and pressed it into his ear. Blaine tried to make it look like he wasn't listening, but with Kurt sitting right across from him, it was a difficult endeavor. 

"Quinn? ...  Is she okay? ... Alright, alright. I'll be over as soon as I can. Sorry... See you in a few."

"Have to leave?" Blaine said, his face etched with concern.

"Yeah, I'm so sorry. Nessa has a high fever. She wasn't looking to great when I left, so I was worried this would happen."

"Oh, poor thing." Blaine frowned sympathetically.

"Was there anything else we had to cover in the meeting?"  _Oh yeah, this was supposed to be a parent teacher conference_. Blaine had almost forgotten.  

"No, no. Nessa is such a great girl, there really wasn't much to cover in the first place."

"Great." Kurt beamed, standing up and pushing in the plastic chair and holding out his hand for Blaine to shake. "Well, thank you, Mr. Anderson."

"Blaine. And you're welcome."

"I'll see you around?" Kurt asked, his voice hopeful.  

"Sure, sure. Bye, Kurt."

"Bye, Blaine."

Kurt turned around and started walking towards the classroom door. Blaine panicked. He didn't want Kurt to leave. Not for good. He enjoyed his company so much. All of his stress he was feeling before was pretty much alleviated in Kurt's company. Blaine would be an idiot to let him slip away.

"Wait!" he called. "Kurt. Um. Could I maybe get your number? I loved chatting with you and thought maybe we could get coffee sometime?"

Kurt grinned, looking surprised.

"I'd love that. My number is listed in that file of yours. I'm Nessa's emergency contact."

"Oh! Yeah. Of course. I'll text you?"

"I'm holding you to that, you know." Kurt winked. "Okay. I really got to get going. See you later, Blaine."

When the door shut behind Kurt, Blaine pumped his fist in the air. It looked like his luck was turning around.


	3. Part Three

"I'm telling you, Quinn. He's the hottest guy I have ever seen," Kurt said into his cell phone as he fell backwards onto his bed. It was incredibly late in the evening at this point. Quinn, who had been over at the humble two story apartment that Kurt and Nessa were lucky enough to share to watch Nessa while Kurt was at his conference, had already driven home, and Kurt had managed to get Nessa's fever down to a manageable temperature and put her to sleep. Finally, responsibilities dealt with and curious daughters out of earshot, Kurt could gush to his best friend about what was probably the best parent teacher conference of all time.

"Hotter than Ryan Gosling?"

" _Hottest guy I've ever seen in person_." Both Quinn and Kurt laughed.

"His jaw line is killer. And his stubble..." Kurt's mind started to wander, so he pulled himself back in. "And his eyes, Q. I could stare at them for days and still not know exactly what color they are."

"Yeah, Kurt, but he's also Nessie's teacher." Quinn responded, her tone firm, but clearly still interested. "Doesn't that make him unavailable or something?"

"Of course not," Kurt scoffed. "He's Nessa's teacher, not mine."

Quinn let out an exasperated exhale. "And are you guys dating now, or...?"

"No, no. Just coffee," Kurt replied quickly, hiding any and all disappointment that might have been hiding in his voice. "But maybe soon. Hopefully."

"Kurt, honey. I'm happy for you, but are you sure you're ready to date?" Quinn asked, and Kurt felt his heart drop in his chest for a moment. He sat up in his bed, his back leaning against the backboard. "I mean, it's only been five years since Chandler--"

"Exactly. It's been five years." Kurt interrupted Quinn quickly, squeezing the arch of his nose between his thumb and pointer finger. "Chandler moved on in five weeks. I'm definitely ready. I have been ready. And Nessa needs someone else in her life, right?"

"And are you sure that Blaine is even  _willing to be_  this someone?" Quinn asked. Kurt hated how right she was. "I think you are getting way too ahead of yourself, Kurt."

" _Blaine is the one who asked me_!" Kurt squeaked defensively, but he could practically see Quinn's condescending glare, so he sighed in defeat. "Okay, okay. Maybe I am. It's just that I've never connected with someone like I have with Blaine. Even Chandler. God, Quinn, if you had only seen him..."

"You're insane, Kurt." Quinn said, but Kurt could tell that she wore an affectionate smile. "Have you told Nessie yet?"

"No, not yet. I want to see how coffee goes first. I don't want her telling all of her friends..."

Kurt had intentions to keep talking, but he stopped short when he saw a trembling Nessarose running towards his open doorway.

"Daddy! Daddy, Randall is in my closet!"

"Randall?" Quinn asked, overhearing Nessa's panicked voice.

Kurt sighed. "From  _Monster's Inc_. Sorry, Q, I got to go. Talk to you tomorrow?"

"Sure thing," Quinn replied.

"Love you, Q." Kurt whispered with a smile.

"Love you, too, KK. Talk to you."

Kurt hung ended the call on his phone and eyed his daughter with a gleam in his eye.

"Now, let's see what we can do about Mr. Randall."


	4. Part Four

"I'm telling you, Tana. He's the most beautiful guy I have ever seen." Blaine was curled up on his sofa, shoes kicked off, an over-sized quilt covering 90% of his body-- just his head stuck out of the top. He had a hot cup of cocoa waiting two feet away from him on his coffee table, cooling down. This was a sort of tradition for Blaine and Santana. Whenever one of the two had a particularly good day (and it is important to note that this is Blaine about 95% of the time), they only get to talk about it if they treat the other to hot cocoa. Santana was particularly fond of this system, because she consistently makes sure that they never have any cocoa packets around in the apartment. Whenever Blaine would go out and buy a new box of packets, Santana would hide them in her secret hiding space-- somewhere only she new the location of. This way, she never had to listen to Blaine gush about crap that she didn't care about.

Today, though, Blaine had stopped buy the grocery store and picked up two boxes of hot cocoa mix and three bags of mini-marshmallows. Which is why Santana sat curled up on her armchair a good five feet away from Blaine with a mug in hand. She huffed irritably at the liquid and glared at Blaine with all the hatred she could muster.

"Is he?" Santana grumbled sarcastically.

"Yes, oh man. He's perfect. His hair is so thick and it looks so soft, I just want to run my fingers through it. And his skin. Tana, it's so smooth looking and beautifully pale... And his eyes..."

"Blainers, I seriously do not want to hear about the color of his eyes."

"Sorry," Blaine apologized, not looking the least bit sorry. "It's just that he is incredibly perfect..."

"Wow. I haven't heard that one before."

"I mean it," Blaine said. Santana rolled her eyes at Blaine exaggeratedly and sat her mug down on the table.

"Listen. I get it. He has a nice ass that's got you all hot and bothered. Can you please stop gushing? I'm seriously going to vomit."

Blaine ignored Santana's comment entirely. "You know? I've always believed that love at first sight was a load of crap. But I felt something with Kurt. I really did."

"Blainers. Seriously. You need a reality check." Santana stood up and hobbled over to Blaine, plopping herself down on top of his feet. "This man has baggage. He's a single dad! He's probably going to be all needy and vulnerable and shit. He's gonna want to confide in you about his ex-hubby or his dead hubby or his drunken one night stand with a lonely hag. And not to mention you're going to have to put up with his brat. I mean, aren't you sick of them already? You deal with the little turds on a daily basis. God knows how you do it..."

"First of all, I love my job. And I love the kids. And Kurt's daughter, Nessarose, is probably the smartest and the sweetest of all of them. I would love to be part of her life in another way." Blaine paused as Santana narrowed her eyes. "Second of all, if Kurt needs to confide in me, I would gladly listen. I have baggage of my own, too, Santana."

Santana scoffed loudly. "I don't think your daddy issues really measure up to raising a kid on your own."

"I know, I know. I never said it did." Blaine squirmed out from underneath Santana and managed to free his legs. He reached over to grab his hot cocoa as he spoke. The point is, I'm willing to listen to whatever Kurt has to tell me."

Santana exhaled and stood up, grabbing her own cocoa and heading towards her bedroom.

"This guy better be smokin'. It's too much effort for me to keep you sane already," she said, just loud enough for Blaine to hear. She entered her room and loudly shut the door behind her.

Blaine took a big gulp of his cocoa, not even caring that it was burning his throat as he smiled to himself.

"Trust me, he is."


	5. Part Five

The Lima Bean was surprisingly crowded when Kurt arrived. The line that sprouted from the counter went all the way to the door, so that Kurt could barely move when he entered the building. With a crowd like this, it would be near impossible for Kurt to save him and Blaine a table. His eyes worriedly scanned the room. Just as he had thought, every single table was occupied. He was about to pull out his phone to call Blaine when he saw him-- ducked down at a small table in the corner.

Kurt was surprised to see him buried in papers... He appeared to be working, which Kurt found strange because Blaine had definitely told him that he was free. Kurt approached the table with a new sense of caution.

"Hey, Blaine," Kurt greeted as he reached where Blaine was seated. Blaine's head snapped up and his face lit as he recognized Kurt. "Was this a bad time? Because we can definitely do this some other--"

"No, no." Blaine stood up and gave Kurt a quick, one armed hug as a greeting before pulling out the chair opposite him for Kurt to sit in. Kurt took a moment to take in Blaine's appearance in full. He certainly dressed differently today. When Kurt and Blaine had first met, he was dressed simply in slacks and a polo shirt. Today, he looked a bit different-- but it was definitely a welcome change. He wore sinfully tight jeans that outline his body in all of the right places along with a multi-shaded grey striped sweater with a couple buttons of the collar left undone. It was a very fitting outfit for a coffee date. Even his hair, previously gelled down to his head, was free and curly, giving him a hipster "fifteen minutes late with Starbucks" look, which Kurt would have hated on anybody else, but of course, Blaine pulled it off. The more Kurt looked at Blaine, the faster his heart beat.

"Actually, my roommate's girlfriend... well... I'd say it's more of a hookup... anyway, she's over, so I got kicked out of the apartment. I've been here for far too long. Brought some work with me so I wouldn't die of boredom." Blaine grinned at Kurt. "But you're here now, so..."

"Ah, so I'm your entertainment?" he said teasingly.

"More or less," Blaine laughed. "So, I already grabbed a coffee when I came, but I could use a refill. Why don't you tell me your coffee order and I can grab us some while you get settled?"

"Oh, no, no, no. I can--"

"Kurt," Blaine said firmly, giving Kurt a look that wasn't entirely unfamiliar to him. It was the same look that Quinn would give him when he was being particularly unreasonable or stubborn. It always worked on him, too. Kurt always caves within seconds of this condescending gaze. But one thing Kurt noticed as he looked at Blaine's version of this knowing and expectant eyes was that it took years of Kurt and Quinn being friends for her to pick up on this. Blaine certainly caught on quickly.

"Mocha. Non-fat," Kurt caved, a grumpy edge to his voice. Blaine smiled and stood up.

"I'll be right back."

Kurt tried not to look too much at Blaine as he left, but... he didn't make too much of an effort. Those jeans were...

Kurt managed to tear his eyes away by the time Blaine reached the end of the significantly shorter line.

He pulled out his phone and unlocked it in one motion. He had several notifications... one email from his boss asking if he could take an extra shift on Thursday night (Kurt made a mental note to ask Quinn to babysit again), a Facebook notification from his friend Mercedes, who lived out in LA singing backup ("Make sure you tell me every last detail of the date, boo." Kurt replied a quick "I promise"), and a photo message from Quinn. It was a picture of Nessa's nails, painted a beautiful shade of sky blue with little green flowers on the thumb, obviously painted by Quinn, next to Quinn's nails, which were painted messily pink, a good deal of polish on her fingers, obviously painted by Nessa. Kurt typed out a response: "Looks like I have a potential nail artist as a daughter! Those flowers are exquisite! Your painting is a bit messy, though, Q. Don't quit the day job. Glad the two of you are having fun! xx"

"What's got you all smiley?" Kurt jumped at Blaine's voice.

"Message from the babysitter. Nessa's quite the nail artist." Kurt turned his phone around to show Blaine the photo, causing Blaine to let out a loud laugh.

"Those flowers are gorgeous! Tell Nessa she has real potential." Kurt smiled fondly at Blaine. Blaine smiled back, before handing Kurt his coffee. "So, I got a grande non-fat mocha and some chocolate chip biscotti for the man with the gorgeous eyes." Kurt laughed, his sides nearly splitting.

"Nessa told me you have a dog named Biscotti?"

"Pavarotti, actually," Blaine chuckled. "But close, very close. I'm surprised she remembered even that much."

"So are you the kind of crazy guy who owns like, twelve dogs?"

"Nope, just two. Pavarotti and Jem. A Papillion and a yellow lab. Total sweethearts. Loves to cuddle. Quite fond of apples."

"Are we talking about you or the dogs?"

"Ha, both." Blaine smiled into his coffee. "While my pups aren't that bad, I suppose that my roommate could easily account for the other ten dogs that would qualify me as being crazy. She's an animal herself."

"She does sound like quite the character."

"Oh, yeah. She's something else. But I love her, despite of it. Her name is Santana. She's a force of nature. But she's my best friend. So I have to put up with that."

"Sounds familiar," Kurt sighed.

"Ah, the best friend slash babysitter," Blaine recalled.

"Quinn," Kurt nodded. "She's a little bitch. But she's amazing. You know the drill. Can't live with them..."

"Can't live without them," Kurt and Blaine chorused together, causing both of them to erupt in a fit of giggles.

"Is Quinn... Nessa's...?"

Kurt could see that Blaine was struggling for words, so he cut in, knowing exactly what he was trying to get at.

"Mom? Yeah, she was the surrogate when my ex-husband and I... and then she's my daughter. You know. Biologically."

"She looks just like you," Blaine commented, looking admiringly into Kurt's face. "She has your eyes."

"So I've been told. They're my mother's eyes. Even closer to hers than mine. Which is probably part of the reason my dad is so in love with her."

"They're beautiful. Yours are. I mean..." Blaine laughed, cheeks turning pink.

"Thank you," Kurt smiled back fondly.

Conversation came easily for the rest of their time together. They talked about cute Nessa moments ("And that's why we don't eat mac & cheese in the house anymore."), crazy teacher stories ("I kind of felt bad for him. I mean, the girl he constantly flirts with was two feet away from him when he puked!"), and some more casual conversations, like upcoming films they were interested in seeing ("We should go see that together!" "Is it appropriate for Nessa? I'd love to spend more time with her!")... They talked for a bit over an hour; they only stopped because the Lima Bean had to close down for the night.

Saying goodbye was borderline awkward. Kurt wasn't sure if he was supposed to kiss Blaine... it was only their first date, so he shouldn't. But was it even a date? Kurt was beginning to panic when Blaine solved the problem by pulling Kurt in for a brief hug.

"I had a great time talking to you today," Blaine said as he pulled away.

"I did, too," Kurt replied.

"So. Are you free next Saturday?"

"I can be," Kurt said coyly. "Why?"

"I want to take you out on our second date. A real date this time. Dinner? At Breadstix?"

"I'll be there," Kurt beamed, excitement building up already.


	6. Part Six

It was Friday night before any contact was made between Kurt and Blaine about the Saturday date. Blaine had promised he would call, but come Friday, there was still no word, so Kurt was the one to give Blaine a call that night.

Blaine felt bad that Kurt had to call him about the date. He knew Kurt had been jumping to all sorts of conclusions. The fact of the matter was simply that Blaine wasn't entirely sure if Kurt wanted to go on an actual date. It had sounded like a great idea when he had initially brought it up, but he had time to mull it over since then, and he wasn't as sure. That is why he was relieved beyond words when Kurt had been the one to reach out to him.

They made plans to have Blaine pick Kurt up at his house in the early afternoon. Quinn was watching Nessa again, which Blaine felt bad about, since it was the third time since he had known Kurt, but Kurt reassured him that Quinn owed Kurt thousands of babysitting nights. Blaine was extremely curious as to what Kurt had done for her to have that much debt, but he didn't ask. It would certainly be a great story for another time. Besides, Kurt also said that Quinn loved spending time with Nessa, so it was more fun for her than it was a hassle.

Kurt was waiting on his front porch when Blaine pulled into the driveway. Blaine immediately began to panic. Was he late? How long had Kurt been waiting? He glanced over at the digital clock on the dashboard of his car... He was definitely on time, if not early. He put his car in park and stepped out to greet Kurt, a little bit uneasily.

"Hey, Blaine!" Kurt beamed as he approached Blaine and enveloped him in a close hug. "You have amazing timing. I was just seeing Nessa off. She's having a play date with Quinn and her daughter tonight."

Blaine exhaled, relieved. "I didn't know Quinn had another daughter. Is she married?"

"Nope. Long story for another time." Kurt dismissed the topic, crawling into the passenger seat of Blaine's car. Blaine blinked as he made his way over to the driver's side again. He looked over at Kurt closely and examined him as he sat down.

"This feels like high school," Kurt laughed.

"You look stunning," Blaine said at the tail of Kurt's sentence, without thinking. He surprised even himself when the words left his mouth out loud.

It definitely wasn't untrue, though. Kurt's outfit today was incredibly unique--unlike anything Blaine had ever seen before. He wore a button up shirt, mostly a light blue color, with different intricate designs integrated in. Around the collar, much to Blaine's delight, was a bow tie. Now, Blaine prided himself in his bow tie collection. He had one in every color and pattern he had thought imaginable. But he had never seen one quite like the one Kurt was wearing. His bowtie was clear--most likely a type of plastic. On the inside of the bowtie, which appeared to be hollow, there were several copper gears and what looked to be a little clock. Blaine was intrigued.

"Sounds like high school, too," Kurt let out a little chuckle. "But thanks. You look quite dapper yourself."

The ride to Breadstix from Kurt's house was short and uneventful. Conversation was mostly about fashion--of course Blaine wanted to know every detail about Kurt's bow tie. Blaine bragged about his large collection, and Kurt told Blaine he had a similar obsession with scarves. They discovered they both had a not-so-secret obsession with Vogue Magazine. Kurt was just telling Blaine about how he dreamed of getting a chance to work there as they pulled into the restaurant parking lot.

Kurt and Blaine kept up light conversation as they entered the restaurant together, shoulders bumping as they walked close to each other. They were seated, and shortly after, they ordered their food. Kurt ordered a fettuccine alfredo, a favorite of his, while Blaine ordered a create-your-own pizza ("There's a sense of freedom to a create-your-own pizza, Kurt. I can create whatever my hungry heart desires.").

Blaine was surprised that their conversation became so serious so quickly after they had ordered. He didn't expect any type of serious talk at all that night. So, he was surprised at the sudden turn in the mood of their meal together.

"It's funny..." Kurt began, a smile forming as he reminisced. "Last time I was here was actually five or so years ago. My ex-husband ordered the chicken parmigiana. The waiter brought him the dish... Apparently he was allergic to one of the spices they use... He hadn't specified that he didn't want the spice in the dish, even though he insisted that he did. So they brought the dish out and he had this big allergic reaction..."

Blaine looked on edge. He wasn't entirely sure if this story was supposed to be serious or humorous. He tried to look interested, whilst also biting back a laugh, something that Kurt saw and took note on. Kurt spoke up about it, a laugh of his own escaping his mouth. "It wasn't bad at all, you can laugh. Oh God, he threatened to sue the restaurant! He was so angry."

"And you haven't been here at all since?" Blaine inquired, amused.

"I haven't. Oh, I haven't thought about that in years."

Blaine bit his lip, clearly wanting to speak up about something, but not having the complete courage to say it. When he did open his mouth to inquire, he was completely unsure and hesitant.

"Your husband. Ex-husband. He... I mean, you don't have to tell me, of course, but, um..."

"Oh, right," Kurt's eyes widened, but not exactly in shock. "I should probably tell you..."

"Kurt, you really don't have to..."

"I'll tell you the basics." Kurt cut him off. "Enough to quench your curiosity."

"Okay." Blaine agreed, and Kurt swallowed and breathed deep.

"Chandler was his name. We met in high school. At a sheet music store, of all places. We had so much in common. It was like my personality had been cloned. We hit it off right away. He asked me for my number, and not even a week later, we were dating. Here's the thing about my relationship with Chandler. It was so faced paced. Insanely so. We got married right out of high school. I wasn't even out of college when we decided to have a kid. I was so serious about us. God, my dad thought I was insane. Looking back on it... it's like one second we were dating and the next we were married with a kid on the way."

"So what happened?"

"Nessa had just turned two. She got sick. Really sick. We had to take her to the hospital. And I discovered how terrible Chandler was during a crisis. He would yell... God, it scared Nessa and I so much. And it made me realize that he wasn't really a great father. And it was that realization that made me take a step back and reevaluate my whole relationship with Chandler. And for the first time, I noticed how truly dysfunctional it really was. It took me awhile, but... when I really opened my eyes, it was easy to leave."

"Kurt..." Blaine started, sympathy drenching his voice. Kurt wasn't having any of that sympathy, though, so he spoke quick to change the topic.

"And now Nessa and I are happier than we've ever been. So, no worries." Kurt smiled warmly at Blaine, effectively lightening the mood. "I don't regret it, though. Maybe I never loved Chandler, but I love Nessa more than anything. And I could never, ever bring myself to regret the relationship that gave me her. She's the best thing that's ever happened to me. Oh God, I'm crying. I don't know why it's so easy for me to talk to you. I can barely talk about this to Quinn."

"I'm glad you told me," Blaine said. "And I feel the same way. About being able to talk to you."

It was then that the waiter carried out their meals, and the pair ate together in good spirits. Blaine would occasionally lean over and steal a bite of Kurt's pasta, and Kurt would affectionately slap his hand away. Yet, not even a minute later, Kurt would steal a slice of Blaine's pizza and take a bite out of it, causing Blaine to chuckle.

Once they were finished, Kurt insisted to pay. Blaine couldn't even argue the point since he had paid for coffee on their previous meeting. The drive home was filled with the same type of playful laughter they had shared while eating. It was a great change in mood for the both of them. And they couldn't be happier with it.

"I feel like I should be making another high school joke," Kurt said as Blaine walked him out to his door after they had arrived back at Kurt's house. Blaine laughed.

"Is your dad peeking through the blinds with a loaded shotgun in his hands?"

"No, I think you're safe," Kurt whispered when they had come to a stop on the porch, their bodies close, their faces even closer.

"Perfect."

Blaine closed the gap between their two faces, their lips meeting perfectly. Blaine kissed Kurt gently, his hand coming up to hold Kurt's head in place, all with immense care. Kurt melted into the kiss, his arms wrapping around Blaine's waist. The two of them were in bliss.

Kissing Kurt was even more perfect then Blaine had imagined. Which, of course, is saying something, considering that Blaine imagined kissing Kurt would be pretty perfect. Kurt's lips were soft and warm and sweet against his own, moving in a way that set every fiber of Blaine's body on fire. Blaine could barely believe it was actually happening, that he was actually kissing Kurt Hummel, quite possibly the most amazing man he had ever met.

Both Kurt and Blaine were reluctant to pull away, but air was necessary.

"I should go," Blaine whispered as he leaned in for another kiss.

"You don't have to..." Kurt mumbled.

"But Nessa..."

"What time is it?" Kurt asked, their faces now very close, but not touching. Blaine paused before pulling out his phone and checking the screen.

"9:50," he answered.

"Shit," Kurt cursed. One of Blaine's hands began threading through Kurt's hair. Blaine marveled about how soft it was.

"Maybe they're running late?" he offered, leaving another short kiss on Kurt's lips. Kurt replied with a sigh.

"Quinn is like clockwork. She'll be here at ten, on the dot."

"Then, yeah, I should definitely go." Blaine gave Kurt another kiss, much like the first, their lips lingering with not much motion.

"Call me soon?" Kurt asked as they separated.

"Of course."

"Promise?"

Blaine smiled, sealing his promise with one final kiss. "I promise."

Blaine stopped by grocery store on the way home and picked up the fanciest, most expensive cocoa he could find.


	7. Part Seven

"We're learning about space in school now!" Nessa exclaimed as she and Kurt entered their home after school one Wednesday afternoon. She dumped her backpack on the kitchen table with the usual haste and grabbed Kurt's wrists and dragged him to the living room sofa, where they always sat to talk about Nessa's school day.

"Really? What about it?" Kurt asked, half-heartedly as he eased himself down on the sofa, next to where Nessa was already bouncing. Nessa pouted at him.

"No, do the thing, Daddy!"

Kurt smiled with affection before he spoke in a low voice, resembling one you might hear on a game show. "What did you learn in school today?"

"Today... I learned the names of all the planets and I learned a song to help me remember. Except for Pluto. Mr. Anderson said the song was an old song so Pluto is still in it even though Pluto isn't a planet anymore."

"Sing the song for me," Kurt suggested, causing Nessa to bounce even more as she sang.

"The sun's a hot star, and Mercury's hot too. Venus is the brightest planet, and Earth's home to me and you. Mars is the red one, and Jupiter's most wide. Saturn's got those icy rings, and Uranus spins on its side. Neptune's really windy, and Pluto's really small. We wanted to name the planets, and now we've named them all."

Kurt grinned at Nessa's dramatic finish and applauded wildly. "That was superb! Bravo! Encore, encore!"

Nessa laughed brightly for a few second before she stopped suddenly and put on a quizzical expression. "Daddy? Why isn't Pluto a planet anymore?"

"Well..." Kurt thought for a minute, figuring out how to best word it. "The scientists found that it was a bit different than the other planets, so they made it separate."

"Do they not love Pluto anymore?"

"No, no. I'm sure they still love Pluto very much. It's just more special now. It's its own kind of planet now."

"A dwarf planet!" Nessa exclaimed, clearly proud of her knowledge.

"Exactly. Because it's cute and tiny. Just like you," Kurt tickled Nessa's belly, and she squirmed and giggled in response before pleading for him to stop. When Kurt eventually did, he stroked her hair and pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead. "When did you get so smart?"

"Mr. Anderson teached me a lot this year."

Kurt smiled for a second, before pausing. Kurt wanted to tell Nessa about Blaine so badly. There had been several moments in the past few weeks where he had almost let it slip, but he had held back, thinking that if Blaine and Kurt weren't going to work out, it would be easier if Nessa never knew. But truth be told, Kurt couldn't be feeling any better about his relationship with Blaine. They've had a few dates since their first at Breadstix, each perfect in their own ways. On top of that, they've spoken on the phone every night after Nessarose went to sleep, for hours, and exchanged flirty texts during the day. Kurt couldn't picture what he had going on with Blaine ending any time soon.

So what was it that was holding him back from telling Nessa?

He spoke with the sudden realization that he didn't have an answer.

"Ness, do you want to have a big girl talk?"

"Okay. Is it a good big girl talk or a bad big girl talk?"

"I'm not sure yet. Probably good. Will you talk to me, Ness?"

Nessa looked thoroughly confused, but she nodded nevertheless. "Mmhm."

"Remember how when you were very little, I was married to your pappy?" Kurt spoke in a slow and gentle tone.

"Yeah."

"I loved him a lot. Which is why we decided to have you."

"Glad you had me," Nessa whispered, cuddling into Kurt's side.

"Me, too, sweet pea," Kurt whispered, pressing a kiss into Nessa's hair, his eyes almost watering as his heart imploded. " Now... since your pappy left, it's just been me and you. I haven't gone out and looked for other boys that I could love like I used to love your Pappy."

"You love Quinn."

"I do, very much. But as best friends. I mean a bigger kind of love."

"Like Rapunzel and Eugene?" Nessa offered, her voice excited. Kurt laughed and nodded.

"Yes, just like Rapunzel and Eugene."

"Oh," Nessa said, giving a short, satisfied nod. "I get it now."

"Well..." Kurt exhaled slowly. This was it. "Daddy wanted to let you know that he found someone. I found my Eugene. Now, I'm not trying to replace Pappy, because I know we've been just fine on our own..."

"Is he a prince?"

"What?"

"Is your Eugene a prince?"

Kurt laughed and spoke with a fond smile. "Not technically, but he certainly acts like one."

Nessa was silent for a few seconds before she spoke again. "Do you love him more than Pappy?"

Kurt swallowed. The easy answer was yes, but it seemed too soon and too harsh for him to say out loud. "I don't know, honey. That's a tough question."

"Do you love him more than me?" Nessa asked, looking up at Kurt with wide eyed. Kurt's heart broke for a second at that look she was giving him, filled with sadness and anticipation for an answer. Kurt was quick to fix that.

"Now that's an easy question. No, I don't. I will always and forever love you the very most." Kurt booped Nessa's nose, and they smiled at each other.

"Is his name Eugene?" Nessa crunched up her nose in disgust. "Because that's kind of a yucky name."

"No, no," Kurt laughed. "It's not."

"What is his name?"

"Ah, this is where this gets interesting. You know this guy, Ness."

"I do?" Nessa's eyes were wide with surprise. Kurt was now wearing an amused smile.

"You certainly do."

"Is it Danny from Rite-Aid?" Nessa asked, referring to a particularly cute cashier Kurt had pointed out on numerous occasions. Kurt laughed as he shook his head.

"No."

"Is it Johnny Depp?"

"What? No!"

"Is it Leonardo Johnson?"

"The boy from your class?" Kurt recalled. "Isn't he like, seven?"

Nessa looked at Kurt, her expression deathly serious. "It's not him, though, right?"

"Of course not."

"Daddy. I give up."

Kurt reached over and grabbed Nessa's body, swinging her around so she was sitting on his lap, facing him.

"Nessa, I'm dating Mr. Anderson. Blaine."

Nessa's reaction was exactly what Kurt had predicted. She began bouncing up and down, squealing and grinning with pure joy.

"REALLY? Is he going to come over and play with me? Can we go on a road trip with him? I really want to go on a road trip with Mr. Anderson because he says he likes to play letter games with the signs. Ooh, are you in love with him? Are you gonna get married? Is Mr. Anderson gonna be my papa?"

"Nessa, honey, slow down," Kurt laughed, amused. He held on to Nessa's shoulders, stroking her back soothingly trying to calm her down. "Now, I already told you that I'm not trying to replace your Pappy. And Blaine and I have only been dating for a couple of weeks. It might not be all that serious. But... I'm telling you because I have a really good feeling about us."

Nessa nodded frantically, her eyes twinkling, still ecstatic.

"But you can't go telling all of your friends. Right now, this is top secret, okay? And you can't treat Bl- Mr. Anderson any different then you normally would. Got it?"

Nessa nodded again, but her expression was fading, turning blank.

"I love you, baby girl," Kurt said genuinely, looking into Nessa's eyes. However, at this point, Nessa was staring off into the distance her face pale and ghostly. Kurt was suddenly concerned. "What is it, Nessa girl?"

"Now you'll always know when I don't do my homework," she whispered, her voice gravely serious.

"Well, I guess--wait, is that a problem? Have you not been doing your homework?"

"No! But if someday I forget..."

"Don't you dare forget, Nessarose Elizabeth Hummel. Because you're right. Every time you misbehave the information goes directly to me."

"Noooo!" Nessa whined.

Kurt then stood up, scooping Nessa up with him as he started for the kitchen.

"Now. Grilled cheese sound good for dinner?"


	8. Part Eight

“I mean, I know she likes me as a teacher, in like, a school setting. But outside of school? I’m not Mr. Anderson, I’m not the same. She might hate me!” Blaine said into his phone, pressed snugly in the crook of his neck as he concentrated on the road.

“Blaine, stop it. She adores you,” was Kurt’s response.

“If she doesn’t like me, that would be awful for me and you, because I know how important Nessarose is to you. Maybe we should just end things now before it gets to be too painful...”

“Blaine. God, do you want to break up with me? Is that what this is about?”

“No, of course not!” Blaine insisted.

“Then stop. You have absolutely nothing to worry about. Except maybe crashing your car because you’re having a panic attack. Focus on the road. Are you almost here?”

“Yeah.” Blaine exhaled. “Turning onto your road now.”

“Great. Now I’m going to hang up, yeah? I’ll see you in a few minutes. And stop worrying.”

“Fine. Okay. Sure.”

“See you, soon, Blaine.” Kurt said, his tone warm.

“Mmm.”

~

Blaine arrived at Kurt’s place not even a minute later. He parked his car next to Kurt’s in the short, but wide driveway and spent a moment just staring at Kurt’s door. He was nervous. Oh, god, he was nervous. He had no real reason to be nervous. He’s had plenty of dates with Kurt and they were completely comfortable together. And he saw Nessarose every single day in school. So clearly, he shouldn’t be scared about how they were all going to get along together for the first time. Yet here he was, now hovering on the front porch, too terrified to knock or to ring the doorbell.

“How long were you planning on standing outside of my door?”

Blaine jumped in surprise at Kurt’s voice as Kurt swung the door open just enough so he was now looking at Blaine directly.

“Kurt! Hey! Sorry, I just-”

“Stop. Being. So. Nervous.” Kurt grinned. He pulled Blaine into a tight embrace, squeezing him affectionately to offer him some reassurance. He then pulled away and left a brief and gentle kiss on Blaine’s lips. Blaine’s previous worries seemed to melt away right then and there. Kurt spoke as he led Blaine into his home and closed the door behind him. “Really, I should be the nervous one. I am subjecting you to my own home and daughter for the first real time.”

“DADDY!” came the voice of Nessarose, who appeared at the top of the staircase right in front of the front door. She began rushing down the stairs, clutching the railing as she approached where Kurt and Blaine were standing. “Is Mr. Anderson here? I can’t find my galoshes.”

“Why do you need your galoshes?” Kurt asked.

“I wanted to show them to Mr. Anderson,” Nessa reached the bottom of the staircase and stopped right in front of Blaine, and looked up to him, beaming. “Hi, Mr. Anderson.”

“You can call me Blaine, if you want. We’re not in school.”

Nessa giggled as she tested Blaine’s name out on her tongue. “Blaine. Blaine. Bl-aine.”

“Ness, why don’t you go show Blaine your room while I finish up dinner?” Kurt suggested. Nessa’s face lit up with excitement.

“Yes!” Nessa grabbed Blaine’s wrist and started dragging him up the staircase. “Yes, come on, Blaine! I’m going to show you my room!”

Blaine struggled keeping up with Nessa as she clambered up the stairs and around a corner into her room. He was surprised he made it up in one piece, what with the force Nessa was using to pull on his arm.

Nessa’s room was adorable. The walls were mostly white, with pink swirls and sparkles painted on around the edges of the room and in the corners. The furniture was also white, from the bureau to the table to the cute little canopy bed. It looked like a room straight from a magazine.

“Nessa, your room is beautiful,” Blaine mused to her at her expectant glance. “I absolutely love it.”

Nessa took her time to show Blaine everything. She showed him all of her toys, her clothes, her books. It was one thing after another. Blaine quickly became oddly comfortable with Nessa, something that fully took Blaine by surprise, but made him feel happy and relieved nonetheless.

“And this is where I keep my costumes!” Nessa squealed, pulling a large trunk out of her closet. “I have bunches of them, because my daddy wanted to be a clothes maker, so he makes me lots of dresses and stuff.”

“Show me,” Blaine said with a smile. Nessarose didn’t waste a second in doing just that. She flung open the trunk and begun pulling out everything to show Blaine, tossing it the costumes carelessly on the floor when she was finished.

“This is my astronaut suit for when I go on trips to Pluto. And this is my Belle dress. Belle is my second favorite princess. The dress is itchy, though. And this is my tutu! It ties in the back with these little bows, see?”

“These are amazing,” Blaine said in awe. They were amazing. The thought that they were made by Kurt astounded Blaine. The dresses were so gorgeously designed, Blaine was surprised they weren’t bought from some fancy designer label. He made a mental note to talk to Kurt about this later.

“Put on the tutu!” Nessa squealed, waving the pink tutu in front of Blaine. “It’ll fit, it has ribbons!”

Nessa didn’t wait for an answer, and she wrapped the tutu around Blaine’s waist. She tried to tie it on, but she mostly just crumpled the ribbon together and hoped that it would stick. Eventually, Blaine let out a laugh as he took the ribbons from Nessa and tied it himself.

“And here is a tiara for you!” Nessa said, reaching into her trunk and pulling out a sparkling tiara. She placed it dramatically on Blaine’s head. Blaine laughed again, standing up from his kneeling position and curtsying for Nessa, to squeals of delight.

Within the next couple of minutes, Blaine and Nessa found themselves playing with each other. Nessa was riding a stick horse and she held a foam sword, and she became a knight who is trying to rescue the damsel in distress (Blaine) who is trapped in a tower (Nessa’s bed).

“Nessarose! Nessarose, you have to help me! My evil stepmother trapped me in this tower and I can’t get out!”

“It’s Sir Hummel,” Nessa corrected, puffing out her chest and speaking in a low voice. “And I don’t think you deserve to be saved.”

“What?” Blaine exclaimed. “Of course I do!”

“You cut your hair. How am I supposed to climb the tower without your braids?”

“You could jump?” Blaine suggested.

“The tower is taller than me! I can’t jump!”

“Try! Your horse looks very, very strong.”

Nessarose scrunched up her face in concentration, bent her knees, and then sprung herself onto the bed next to where Blaine was crouched.

“You did it! You saved me!” Blaine cried, grabbing Nessa and tossing her up, resulting in fits of giggles. Blaine suddenly put her down, his voice turning solemn. “But we have one problem.”

“What is it?” Nessa asked, her eyes wide with fear.

“How are we going to get down?”

“I have dinner ready, girls.”

Both Blaine and Nessa jumped at the sound of Kurt’s voice. Kurt was leaning against Nessa’s doorframe, watching the pair closely with an amused smirk tugging at his lips. Blaine wondered exactly how long he was standing there.

“Hey, I’m not a-” Blaine began, before realizing that he was wearing a tutu and a tiara. Nessa pointed a finger at Blaine.

“Blaine is the princess.”

“I see that, honey. He looks very...”

“Regal.” Nessa grinned. Kurt chuckled. Blaine stood up and untied the tutu and took of the tiara, tossing them into the costume chest.

“Sure. You could say that.”

~

Dinner was, in a word, lovely. Kurt’s cooking was excellent; far better than Breadstix, for sure. Blaine and Nessa exchanged teasing glances throughout most of the meal, fueled by Kurt’s teasing comments. By the time the meal was winding down, Nessa was extremely fidgety.

“I want to play Save the Princess again,” she whined as Kurt started clearing the table, Blaine quickly standing to help.

“Well, Nessa, you’ll have to ask Blaine if he wants to play with you,” Kurt said, looking at Blaine with a smirk.

“Blaine, can we play Save the Princess again?” Nessa pleased, getting up to hug Blaine’s knees. “Please?”

“Sure, of course.” Blaine’s smile turned mischievous as he looked to Kurt. “But only if your Daddy plays with us this time.”

“Daddy!” Nessa let go of Blaine’s legs to clutch onto Kurt’s. “Daddy, will you play with us?”

“I don’t know, hun...” Kurt trailed.

“Please?” Nessa begged.

“Pretty please? With a cherry on top?” Blaine added, pouting his lips and giving Kurt his widest eyes. Kurt sighed as he caved in.

“Fine. But only because you asked so nicely.”

“Ooh! You can be the dragon!” Blaine suggested with excitement. “And Nessa can try to save me again, and you can try and stop her.”

“No! No, I want to be the dragon. I love dragons,” Nessa insisted.

“Alright,” Kurt said. “Then I’ll be the knight.”

“No, Daddy. Blaine has to be the prince. He is Eugene. You can be Rapunzel.” Nessa said, voice firm. She then darted out of the dining room and up the stairs, back into her room.

“Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair,” Blaine said, wagging his eyebrows at Kurt as he followed Nessarose.

“Oh, god,” Kurt laughed, burying his face in his hands as he trudged up the stairs behind them.


	9. Part Nine

It was a Tuesday, midday. Kurt had the day off at work, so he was using this rare, precious time to catch up on housework. Nessarose had a tendency to leave a trail wherever she went, and with the end of the school year quickly approaching, Kurt struggled to find the time to clean up after her. And that was exactly what this day was for. Kurt was moving from room to room, picking up and vacuuming and dusting. It was tedious work, but it needed to be done.

Kurt was vacuuming the kitchen when the doorbell rang. He was surprised to hear it. He switched off the vacuum and listened to see if it would ring again, and sure enough, it did. He wasn’t sure who it could possibly be. Blaine and Nessa were at school, Quinn was working, and his father would never drop by without calling him first... he had no clue. Kurt headed over to the front door with an extreme feeling of both curiosity and confusion.

Kurt opened the door only to be faced with a strange Latina woman that he certainly had never met in his life. Kurt didn’t know how to react. He stared at the girl with a look of confusion, and she just stared back with an intense, judgmental glare.

“You’re Hummel?” the woman asked.

“Yes... excuse me, who are--”

The woman ignored Kurt’s question, pushing past Kurt and entering the house, looking around.

“Where are you going? This is my house.”

“What, Blanderson never told you about me?” The woman made her way over to Kurt’s kitchen, opening up the fridge and examining its contents. “I’m sure he must have warned you that I might pay you a spontaneous visit to do a background check. I do that sometimes.”

Kurt let out a low breath as the realization hit him. “...you’re Santana.”

Santana slammed the fridge door shut and wandered into into Kurt’s living room, collapsing on the sofa.

“Bingo.”

Kurt followed, sitting down uncomfortably on the loveseat next to the sofa. “How did you find out where I...?”

“Hummel,” Santana interrupted. She gave Kurt a look that Kurt simply failed to be able to put words to. He caved quickly.

“Okay, okay. Nevermind.”

“So,” Santana said loudly, not wasting a single moment. “Kurt Hummel. How old are you? What, sixteen? Seventeen?”

“Twenty-seven. What--”

“Divorced. Small daughter. Working as... what do you do?”

Kurt opened and closed his mouth a few times, not entirely sure of what to say. “Yeah, I think that’s none of your business.”

Santana cleared her throat and straightened herself up, looking Kurt dead in the eye. “Let me make something crystal clear to you, Lady Lips. It may not seem like I give two shits about anyone or anything, but Blaine is my best friend, and I really do care about him. I’m doing this background check for his own good. I can’t see him get hurt. Not again. And I need to make sure that he’s not dating a prostitute or a drug dealer. As that does happen.”

“I’m not a prostitute or a drug dealer, Santana.” Kurt managed to say, because honestly, Santana’s sincerity when it came to Blaine shocked him. She was Blaine’s best friend for a reason, he supposed.

“Answer the question, Hummel.”

Kurt exhaled loudly. “I’m the manager of Sheets-N-Things.”

“Damn,” Santana said after an uncomfortably long moment of silence. “That is some boring shit. What did you go to college for?”

“Design. But... I never graduated. I dropped out to be a stay at home dad. My ex-husband had a pretty good job, so...”

“And what, after he dumped your ass, you just gave up?”

Kurt bubbled with anger as he gave his forceful response. “Well, I couldn’t go back to school! I have Nessa.”

“But you want to,” Santana replied, not missing a beat. Kurt was stunned at how Santana seemed to know exactly how Kurt was feeling. It was like any type of wall Kurt worked to build up, Santana had them tumbling down with one glance. Kurt gave a few shallow breaths before replying in a low, accusing tone.

“Did you come here just to interrogate me about my life’s biggest regrets? Because I think you’re just about finished now.”

“You love Blaine, right?” Santana said eventually. Kurt struggled to form a response.

“I... I care about him a lot, and...”

“You love him,” Santana said firmly, unfazed.

“I think I do,” Kurt said, vocalizing for the first time what had been on his mind for quite a while now. And suddenly, it felt like a massive weight was lifted off his shoulders. It took all of his self control not to break into a grin.

“Well, Hummel, you’re gonna be fine. Just move in with the hobbit and go back to school. Get a real job and live happily ever after. Easy peasy.”

“I appreciate your advise, Santana, I really do. But we’re just not ready for that yet, and--”

“Well, by all means, take your damn time. But I don’t know why you guys are waiting, because it’s obvious that you two idiots are disgustingly in love with each other.”

Once again, Kurt was speechless. Santana stood up quickly and started walking around the room, looking at the pictures hung on the walls.

“This is your daughter?” Santana asked, looking at one particular framed photograph hanging next to the television. Kurt stood up to join her next to the photo. He smiled as he recognized the picture.

The picture was taken in the very same kitchen that they were just in, almost five years previous. A young Nessa sat in a highchair, frosting completely covering her grinning face. On her left, Chandler sat smiling wide at the camera, an arm draped around Nessa’s chair. On the other side was Kurt, who was too preoccupied laughing at Nessa to look at the camera. Behind Kurt was Quinn, who had her hand resting on Kurt’s shoulder. She looked at the camera, laughter in her eyes and frosting on her nose. Everybody looked happy.

“Yeah, that’s Nessa. That picture was taken on her second birthday. It was actually the last time we were all a real family.”

“That’s...?” Santana trailed, her eyes locked on Quinn.

“My best friend, Quinn. Nessa’s bio-mom.” Kurt answered.

Santana’s eyes lingered for a moment before she snapped out of it.

“Well, Kurt, it was nice meeting you.” She started back towards the door, and Kurt followed her closely. She stopped at the door and spun around to look at Kurt. “Don’t fuck things up with Blaine... and maybe I might just like you.”

“Thank you?” Kurt smiled.

“Take care of him, Hummel. He’s something special.”

“I know,” Kurt said simply, and with that, Santana was gone.

And strangely enough, Kurt thinks he understands why Blaine loves that crazy girl so much.


	10. Part Ten

Blaine’s stomach was jittery as he rang the doorbell to the Hummel household. He wasn’t nervous, per say. In fact, he was more excited. His hand went up to pat the box that was hidden in the inside pocket of his jacket, just to make sure that it was still there, safe and sound. Blaine couldn’t help but break into a grin when he heard little footsteps running to answer the door. Nessarose opened it, beaming at Blaine excitedly. 

"Happy birthday, Nessa!" Blaine grinned at Nessa. She looked beautiful, dressed in cute little jeans and a gray and pink striped shirt, her long brown hair kept out of her eyes with a barrette. Blaine’s heart swelled with affection looking at her.

"Thank you, Blaine!" Nessa squealed, bouncing on her heels. "Guess how old I am?"

"Hm..." Blaine put his hand on his chin and stroked it, teasingly deep in thought. "Are you... twenty-six?"

"What? Nooooo," Nessa giggled. "I'm much littler than that."

"Are you sure? But you look so grown up!"

"Guess again, Blaine."

"Four?"

"No, that's too small!"

"Well, then, I give up." Blaine threw his arms up in the air in mock-aggravation, causing Nessa to laugh.

"I'm seven years old!"

"Seven years old! That's such a big age! You are practically a grown up."

"Blaine Anderson, do not say she's a grown up." Just then, Kurt appeared behind Nessarose, glaring at Blaine teasingly. "She's my baby. And she'll be my baby forever."

"Kurt." Blaine grinned as he greeted his boyfriend with a sweet kiss. Blaine placed one arm around Kurt's back, holding him close, and Kurt's arms snaked around Blaine's waist. Blaine loved this feeling, being so close to Kurt in a way that he failed to be able to describe. Beside the pair, Nessa was making a disgusted face. She had been seeing far too much of his father kissing lately.

"I'm glad you could make it,” Kurt whispered once they parted. Blaine smiled at him fondly.

"Oh, please. I wouldn't miss it for the world,” Blaine said before turning to Nessarose, who was impatiently bouncing, not liking the fact that the attention had wavered away from her. "Nessa, do you want to open your present from me before everybody else gets here?"

Nessa’s eyes lit up. "You got me a present?!"

"Of course I did!" Blaine exclaimed, like it was the most obvious thing in the whole world.

"Blaine, you didn't have to-" Kurt began, but he was interrupted by Nessa, who was excitedly jumping up and down.

"What is it? What is it?”

"Nessarose,” Kurt scolded.

"It's fine, it's fine." Blaine reassured. He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out the box that he had been so careful to remember. He handed it to Nessarose, with a careful smile, and crouched down to be at her level. "Go ahead and open it."

"Oh my goodness!" Nessarose exclaimed as she opened the small square box. She pulled out a little silver bracelet. It had one charm on it, a small silver music note. "It's so pretty!"

"Here, let me..." Blaine started, reaching out to take the bracelet from Nessa, and then carefully putting it on her wrist. Nessarose looked at the bracelet with wide eyes, clearly enthralled with her gift. Blaine’s smile widened, before his expression turned serious. He took Nessa’s hands in his own, looking her in the eyes. "There's only one charm on it now. But I promise you, I'll give you a new one to add on to it on your birthday every year. That way, as you get older, it will fill up and look beautiful. Just like you."

"You promise?" Nessarose asked, her eyes wide with hope and wonder.

"Pinky promise." Blaine confirmed. He held out his pinky finger to Nessa, who eagerly took shook it with her own. Kurt’s eyes met Blaine’s at this moment, and Blaine wished he could have taken a picture of Kurt at that moment, because it was the most beautiful he had ever seen him. Kurt's eyes were full of admiration and gratitude and best of all, love. Blaine simply nodded, standing up slowly.

"Now what do you say to Blaine?" Kurt prompted, quietly. Nessa sprung to life with her answer.

"Thank you so much, Blaine! I love it so much!"'

"You are very welcome, Nessa,” Blaine said, placing a hand on Nessa’s shoulder fondly. “Happy birthday."

x

The party was in full swing and it was going pretty well. Most of the people in attendance were family of the Hummels’, with a few friends. Blaine felt out of place, but he was relieved when Santana showed up, fashionably late, of course, so he had somebody to hang around with as Kurt went around talking to different people.

Blaine and Santana were standing in a corner, discussing the reaction to Nessa’s birthday present, when Blaine was tapped on the shoulder by a blonde woman. It didn’t take very long for Blaine to recognize her.

“Hi, I’m so sorry to interrupt. Kurt told me that you were Blaine? And I thought it was time I introduced myself.”

“You must be Quinn,” Blaine grinned, holding out his hand for her to shake. “Fantastic to meet you.”

“Likewise,” Quinn took his hand and shook it, giving him a dazzling smile. “I’m sorry it’s taken so long. It seems like we keep barely missing each other.”

“I feel like I need to thank you,” Blaine said. “For watching Nessa all the time while I’m with Kurt.”

“It’s my pleasure. I love Nessa, and I want Kurt to be happy. Plus, I kind of owe Kurt my life.”

“I’ll have to hear that story sometime.”

Quinn laughed. “Oh, not if I can help it. I’m sure Kurt and I will carry that one to the grave.”

“Oh, sorry. I forgot...” Blaine said suddenly, remembering that Santana was hovering beside him. “This is Santana, my best friend. Santana, this is Quinn, Kurt’s best friend.”

“Nice to meet you, Quinn,” Santana said softly. “I’ve heard a lot about you.”

“And I, you.” Quinn replied. They exchanged heavy looks, and suddenly Blaine felt uncomfortable. “Santana, Kurt has some stuff he wanted me to take care of in the kitchen... Would you like to help me?”

“Sure. You don’t mind, right, Blaine?” However, neither girl waited for an answer and they were off in a second.

Blaine was suddenly left alone. He was just building up an uncomfortable level of awkwardness when a man that he also recognized walked up to him, smiling.

"You must be Blaine,” the man said, eyeing Blaine up and down.

"Mr. Hummel!" Blaine exclaimed loudly, cursing himself for his quick response. _The one man you have to impress, Blaine, and you scream in his face. Great job._ Luckily for Blaine, he seemed unfazed.

"It’s Burt,” he stuck out his hand and Blaine shook it. “Nice to meet you, kid."

"You too, sir. Kurt talks about you all the time."

"Same with you." Burt said with a wink, and Blaine could feel his whole face turn pink with his blush.

"Listen, kid, you're obviously nervous about meeting me. You're shakin' in your boots. But you have nothing to be worried about. I like you already. You make Kurt happy. He hasn't been happy in a while."

"I try,” Blaine managed. “Kurt deserves it."

"He does. He's been pretty lonely since Chandler, even though he'll never admit it. You're good for him. And for Nessarose. She needs another adult in her life."

"I know it's only been a couple of months, but...” Blaine paused, collecting his thoughts. “I don't plan on leaving them any time soon. I think I love them both."

Burt let out a laugh. "Oh, kiddo, I know you do. You’re pretty easy to read, I can tell."

Blaine smiled, and all of a sudden, he felt a strange feeling that was almost foreign to him. And it felt an awful lot like family.

x

After everybody ate cake and Nessarose opened her presents, Blaine and Kurt had a moment alone in the kitchen, doing the dishes from cake and ice cream. Nessarose and a few other kids in attendance were playing with her new train set she got from her Uncle Finn (who Blaine had hit if off with instantly), and all of the adults were either watching them or in their own conversations. Blaine was happy to have this time with Kurt, even if they were just doing dishes together in comfortable silence.

"You're dad isn't as scary as I thought he'd be,” Blaine said, handing Kurt a large platter he had just rinsed off for Kurt to put into the dishwasher.

"I'm glad to hear that,” Kurt’s smile was wide and sincere, and then he let out a laugh. “Chandler was scared shitless of him."

Blaine smiled. "He loves you and wants to protect you. I respect that. He looks like he is a great man"

"He really is,” Kurt said, before pausing and straightening up. “Hey, have you seen Quinn around anywhere?"

"No, I haven't seen her since we had cake," Blaine responded casually, not thinking about it too much until Kurt's question sparked one of his own. "Speaking of which, have you seen Santana?"

"Not since..." Kurt began, before stopping dead in his tracks. He looked Blaine straight in the eyes with an expression that can only be described as pure terror. "Oh, crap."

Blaine just laughed. “Our two best friends. Who’d have guessed?”


	11. Part Eleven

“Next up, we have Mr. Anderson’s first grade class, who have prepared a song for you all to promote the importance of friendship,” the principal of the elementary school said into the mic that was attached to the podium she had been speaking at.

Kurt sat in the audience, a couple rows back, looking up at a group of children crammed on risers. He searched the class of fifteen students for Nessa, and he beamed when he made eye contact with his daughter. She grinned back and waved excitedly, making Kurt want to explode with affection for his baby girl.

Blaine was there, sitting at a piano in front of the kids. Some of them were smiling, and some of them looked like they were about to be sick. Blaine nodded at the group before beginning to play the piano. His face broke into a grin as the kids began the [song](https://soundcloud.com/sebklaine/count-on-me).

“ _If you ever find yourself stuck in the middle of the sea, I’ll sail the world to find you..._ ”

The kids were, in a word, adorable. They were surprisingly in tune, and they all had a sense of enthusiasm that you would never find in a normal group of children this age.

Kurt watched as Nessarose stepped forward to a microphone during the chorus. She had a solo part that she had been rattling on and on about for weeks, but she refused to sing it for Kurt. When the chorus ended, Nessa turned a shade of bright pink, and for a moment, Kurt was afraid that she would be too nervous to go on, but of course, she had Hummel blood running through her veins, so the music came out like it was only natural.

“ _And if you ever forget how much you really mean to me, every day I will remind you..._ ”

Kurt didn’t notice the single tear running down his cheek until he subconsciously wiped it away.

After the performance, Kurt watched intently as Blaine was rushed with hugs and ramblings from excited children. Nessarose was among them, and Kurt’s heart leapt when he saw Blaine give her a kiss on the forehead amongst the chaos. Kurt fought his way through the crowd to meet them.

“That was great! I’m so proud of you both.” Kurt kissed Nessarose on the forehead and brought a free hand up to rest on Blaine’s shoulder. There was a moment of complete bliss that struck Kurt to his core. It was a feeling that he hadn’t felt in eight years.

“Can I go say hi to Charlotte?” Nessa asked, breaking the moment. Kurt responded with a laugh as he set Nessa back down on the floor.

“Make it quick, sweet pea. And meet me right outside the school, got it?”

“Got it! Thanks, Daddy!” Nessa chirped, darting off to the other side of the classroom where her friend was waving.

“So that was something else, wasn’t it?” Blaine said, breaking the silence with a light smile.

“It was adorable. All these kids really adore you.”

“And the parents, too, right?” Blaine teased, nudging Kurt with his elbow. Kurt let out a laugh.

“Well... this one, at least."

“Good,” Blaine said, his grin covering his entire face. It was contagious, and soon Kurt was grinning just as big. Kurt’s heart was aglow.

“I love you,” Kurt blurted.

It was completely instinctual. Kurt was surprised to hear the words out come out of his mouth, but he didn’t regret them one bit once they were said. It was the honest to God truth, and it warmed his whole body and felt right to be said out loud.

“I love you, too,” Blaine said, grinning even wider, if that was at all possible. Kurt leaned forward and gave him a peck on the lips. It was nothing deep or lingering, because they were still in the school, but it was enough to convey the message. That this was actually real. They were in love.

A couple parents and teachers approached Blaine after that, offering him praise and asking him questions about the kids. Kurt lingered around the side of the classroom, watching the way Blaine interacted with the kids and the parents, really in awe of it all. Kurt knew that Blaine was great at his job from what Nessa had told him, but he never really put thought into how good he really was. Now, seeing him smile and laugh with the kids, seeing how much every parent was just as charmed by him as Kurt was when they had first met, and seeing the impact he was having on each of these lives... Kurt was so proud.

“That was really good, you know,” Kurt said to Blaine as they were both walking outside of the school together, hand in hand.

“Was it?” Blaine raised an eyebrow, obviously trying to sound casual, but the eagerness in his voice was blatantly present.

“It was. Blaine, I really think you would be a good music teacher. Not that I don’t think you are good at being a first grade teacher, because obviously Nessarose loves you... But you are really and truly fantastic at music. And maybe I’m wrong and I don’t know you as well as I think I do, but I do think it’s what you really want to be doing,” Kurt studied Blaine’s face for any type of clue as to what he was thinking when he didn’t provide a response. Kurt sighed. “We’ve been avoiding this topic for awhile, Blaine.”

“What topic?”

“The school year ends within the month. I want to go back to school so I can get a real job and a career, and I think that you could use a change in scenery as well. And please, correct me if I’m wrong, but I think the two of us are pretty serious about our relationship.”

“Kurt, what are you getting at?”

“I think that we should think about moving to New York together,” Kurt said quickly. He took a sharp breath before continuing, talking so fast he could barely comprehend what he was saying himself. “And I know that that is asking a lot because we might not be ready for that. I mean we just said “I love you”, even though I’ve been thinking it since I first met you, so I get that this might be a huge step taken too early, but I think it might be worth the risk. I know it’s something we both want and... Okay, I’m rambling.”

Blaine was quiet for a long time. Kurt felt his heart drop to his stomach.

“Listen, Kurt. I do love you and I love Nessa and I do want to spend every moment of my life with you two. But...”

“But what?” Kurt prompted, color draining from his face.

“New York is expensive, Kurt. If you’re going to be a student, maybe working a part time job... And then me as a teacher... Kurt, the apartment I share with Santana? I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but it’s a really nice place. I would never be able to afford it on my own. Especially not with a teacher’s salary. That’s why I’m tied down in Ohio. My parents are willing to help me out, as long as I stay here.”

“But you went to school in New York...” Kurt started, confused now more than anything.

“And my parents disapproved. The only reason I was allowed to go was with the promise that I’d come right back.”

Blaine was getting worked up now, and Kurt could have sworn he saw the beginnings of tears well up in Blaine’s eyes. Kurt didn’t know what to say.

“Blaine...”

Blaine sighed slowly, composing himself. “I want to go to New York with you, Kurt. Don’t get me wrong. That is everything I want for us and our future. I just... if we wait a year I can pick up another job and we can start saving...”

“No,” Kurt shook his head, bringing his hands up to rest on Blaine’s shoulders. “No, Blaine, it’s alright. We’ll talk about this again, okay?”

“Sure,” Blaine breathed, nodding slightly.

“But... in the meantime...” Kurt trailed coyly, taking a tiny step closer to Blaine. “I have another big topic to bring up.”

“Yeah?”

“Will you move in? With Nessa and I?” Kurt asked slowly, his mouth slowly spreading into a big smile.

“Are you... are you serious?”

“Of course. Listen, Blaine, I love you. Nessa loves you. And you said that you love us. It’s hard enough to spend time with you when you live across town, and...” Kurt took a deep breath and slowed down his words. “If we are thinking of a future together... I want it to start as soon as possible.”

“Kurt, I would love that.” 

“Really?!”

“Really. I do love you two. More than anything. And the idea of living with you guys... Becoming a family... It kind of makes me feel like crying. Like happy crying. Oh god, I’m crying,” Blaine laughed, tears certainly present at this point.

“Blaine,” Kurt laughed, too. It was a sweet laugh, filled with love and affection and the happiest tears imaginable.

“At the end of the school year, okay? It’s going to be busy for everybody until then, but after that... I would love to move in with you.”

“I love you,” was all Kurt could manage as a response. But it was exactly what needed to be said. Blaine leaned in and captured Kurt’s lips in a sweet kiss.

“I love you, too, Kurt. So much,” Blaine murmured.

“Oh, crap.” Blaine said, pulling away from Kurt suddenly.

“What?” Kurt asked, his voice deep with a smidge of disappointment.

“Santana."

Kurt let out a loud laugh, as he turned and started to lead Blaine outside to meet up with Nessa. “Oh, she’s going to kill you.”

“Crap.”


End file.
